Vampire Weekend releases “2021” and “Harmony Hall,” its first new music in six years

The ridiculously eagerly anticipated new songs from Vampire Weekend are here. This morning, the bookish, loveable indie rock band from New York City debuted “2021” and “Harmony Hall,” two selections from its as-yet untitled fourth LP. 

“2021” is short, and probably qualifies more as a half song: it’s a minute and 40 seconds in length, is built around atmospheric synthesizer layers and Ezra Koenig’s mellifluous voice. It feels like a wind-up to the full-throttle pitch that comes next, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the opening track on the record.

That aforementioned pitch is “Harmony Hall,” a joyous dance song that straddles the worlds of house music (the staccato piano chords ringing throughout), gospel (the group vocals harmonizing on the chorus) and Afropop (those body-moving rhythms, and a VW staple at this point). The song’s joyous melody cloaks an existential hook — “I don’t wanna live like this, but I don’t wanna die,” a line previously used in their song “Finger Back” from Modern Vampires of the City — and the overall package is reminiscent Primal Scream’s classic Screamadelica in the best way.

Take a listen to both songs below. Vampire Weekend plays the annual Firefly Music Festival in June. Tickets and more information can be found here.